[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 189 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 189
Recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to
accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition
and supporting United States Agency for International Development's
commitment to global nutrition through its multi-sectoral nutrition
strategy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 7, 2019
Mr. Marshall (for himself and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and
in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
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RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to
accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition
and supporting United States Agency for International Development's
commitment to global nutrition through its multi-sectoral nutrition
strategy.
Whereas 151 million children under the age of 5 in the world--22 percent--are
stunted, or chronically undernourished, and in countries highly affected
by undernutrition, stunting affects 1 in every 3 children;
Whereas wasting, or acute malnutrition, continues to threaten the lives of an
estimated 7.5 percent or nearly 51 million children under the age of 5
globally, and more than 38 million children under the age of 5 are
overweight;
Whereas malnutrition directly or indirectly causes 45 percent of all deaths--2.6
million--of children under age 5 annually and puts those who survive at
risk of impaired brain development, lower IQ, weakened immune systems,
and greater risk of serious diseases;
Whereas undernourished adolescent girls have impaired cognitive ability and
productivity and their future babies are at increased risk for low birth
weight and death;
Whereas iron deficiency anemia, associated with undernutrition, contributes to 1
in 5 maternal deaths (or 20 percent of maternal mortality);
Whereas poor maternal nutrition contributes to poor fetal development and low
birth weight, and an estimated 60 to 80 percent of neonatal deaths occur
in low birth weight babies;
Whereas a large body of scientific evidence supports the benefits of improved
breastfeeding practices on the short-term and long-term health and
development of children and their mothers;
Whereas a growing evidence base demonstrates that reducing maternal and child
malnutrition, especially in the critical 1,000 days between pregnancy
and age 2, is imperative to ending preventable maternal and child
deaths, improving cognitive and physical development, and strengthening
children's immune systems to bolster resistance to disease;
Whereas leading economists and Nobel Laureates have identified improving child
nutrition as the most cost-effective way to enhance global health and
development;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Development's Multi-Sectoral
Nutrition Strategy's approach addresses both direct and underlying
causes of malnutrition, and its focus on linking humanitarian assistance
with development programming helps build resilience to shocks in
vulnerable communities;
Whereas malnutrition is a universal issue that no country in the world can
afford to overlook, and countries with high burdens of malnutrition,
including stunting, wasting, anemia, and micronutrient deficiency, will
struggle to achieve sustainable and equitable economic growth;
Whereas the United States plays a lead role supporting the goals of Scaling Up
Nutrition, a global movement of 60 countries to prioritize nutrition,
particularly during the 1,000-day window of opportunity between a
mother's pregnancy and her child's second birthday, through effective
policy and dedicated national resources; and
Whereas the world has reduced undernutrition since 1990, yet global progress has
been too slow to ensure each child can attain a full and prosperous
future regardless of where he or she was born and at the current pace,
the global community will not reach its global nutrition targets set for
2025: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) reaffirms that--
(A) food security and good nutrition in early
childhood saves lives and lays the foundation for
healthy physical and cognitive growth and development;
(B) the potential benefit of good nutrition is
life-long and influences a child's entire future, with
entire communities and nations ultimately prospering;
(C) the right nutrition helps children learn, helps
protect them from illness, increases their productivity
and earning potential, and supports the well-being and
health of their future offspring; and
(D) women who are well-nourished and do not suffer
from anemia are less likely to die in childbirth and to
give birth to children who are malnourished, breaking
the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition;
(2) reaffirms that--
(A) good nutrition is also an economic issue
central to reducing poverty and putting countries on
path to economic development;
(B) adults who were well-nourished as children earn
up to 46 percent more than those who were malnourished;
(C) countries with a very high burden of early
childhood malnutrition have lower economic growth rates
due to lost income and productivity; and
(D) the cost to nations is substantial with Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) losses estimated between 3 to 16
percent with overall potential impacts to the global
economy as high as $3.5 trillion per year;
(3) commends United States leadership in helping developing
countries meet the nutritional needs of women and children, and
supports continued efforts;
(4) commends United States Agency for International
Development's (USAID) recognition that nutrition interventions
are among the lifesaving interventions that can have the
greatest impact in ending preventable child and maternal
deaths;
(5) recognizes the USAID Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy,
the United States Government Global Nutrition Coordination
Plan, and the Global Food Security Strategy as platforms
through which to help reach global nutrition targets by 2025,
as agreed to at the World Health Assembly in 2012;
(6) recognizes the vision and goals of the Scaling Up
Nutrition movement as a global partnership to support country-
led efforts to improve maternal and child nutrition involving
governments, civil society, the United Nations, donors,
businesses, and researchers;
(7) recognizes that progress against global malnutrition
must be accelerated using innovative, scaled-up approaches to
improve the systems that affect the nutritional status of women
and children; and
(8) calls for transformative efforts across sectors at
USAID--
(A) to accelerate progress to end maternal and
child malnutrition, including through Country
Development Cooperation Strategies that align with
country's national nutrition plans; and
(B) to include improved and clear methods to track
nutrition funding and outcomes across all United States
Government global nutrition programs, especially those
in global health, food security, agriculture, basic
education, food assistance, and water, sanitation, and
hygiene (WASH).
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